


Courage and creativity

by KS_Claw



Category: Guardians of Childhood - William Joyce, Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: F/M, Once Upon A Time, Origin Story, The Golden Age, Young Love, how they met story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-07
Updated: 2017-01-28
Packaged: 2018-06-07 00:47:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6778009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KS_Claw/pseuds/KS_Claw
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Once upon a time, in a time known as the Golden Age, a man named Kozmotis Pitchiner met the woman who would become his wife.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> We all know the story of how Kozmotis Pitchiner lost his family, and eventually became Pitch Black, the Nightmare King. I wanted to do something a little different, and show how he met my version of Lady Pitchiner.

The first time they meet is a coincidence.

Kozmotis Pitchiner is but a young soldier, passing the time while visiting the market. He isn't even on a specific errand, just passing time after having been on a three-month long patrol with the _Sunstrider_ , whose crew he is currently a part of. Despite a run-in with a small band of Dream Pirates near the rings of the planet Boradio, it had been a relatively quiet patrol, something that most soldiers Kozmotis' age finds rather tedious. The run-in hadn't even been that overly exciting. The Dream pirates looked like they had been in a scuffle with someone before the _Sunstrider_ came across them (possibly rival pirates or a very vicious Star pilot), and were therefore easy to capture.

"Darling, there you are!"

Her voice, bright and clear like a bell, startles Kozmotis out of his thoughts and he turns before he can stop to think. A young woman, hardly a few years his junior (and a couple of inches shorter than him) rushes towards him, and he finds himself worrying she is going to run headfirst into him... right up until she jumps up and sets off from a box, right into his waiting arms (he had reacted by pure instinct at that, he realizes, as though expecting this action.)

And before he knows it, she is _kissing_ him. He stands frozen, mind blank in shock and surprise even as she pulls away, smiling as she does so before hugging close to him.

" _Apologies, but I am in a bit of a pinch!_ " She whispers hurriedly to him. Kozmotis only blinks a moment, before catching sight of a rather ruffled and slightly familiar gentleman, who looks stunned at first, and then frowns darkly when Kozmotis easily sets the lady down, though keeping her close in a hopefully familiar-looking embrace.

"My lady..." Kozmotis finally replies smoothly, "I wasn't even expecting to see you here today! I'm so glad I was wrong." The young woman smiles more earnestly in relief, hugging close to him as she keeps up their little charade.

"I wanted to see you. Father told me I shouldn't, but you know how old fashioned he is."

Kozmotis responds by offering his arm and leading the lady off, vaguely agreeing on her statement. Behind them, the suitor watches them for a moment before turning away and stalking off in a huff. They keep up their charade for a few more minutes however, just to be on the safe side, before the young woman sighs in relief at last and pulls away, giving a slightly embarassed curtsey.

"My apologies again, good sir." She says. "And thank you for playing along. I promise, I do not make it a habit to randomly jump on strangers."

Kozmotis merely smiles and shrugs slightly.

"There is no need for an apology, my dear lady." He tells her earnestly, "I am only glad that I could help you with your predicament."

"You are too kind." She replies with a smile, before she blinks in realization and grimaces. "...Even as I continue to be _brutish_ with my own manners, and not even introduce myself!" She gave a light curtsey at that.

"My name is Carolina Rosalinda Ebony Centaurii. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

He returns her smile and gives a bow from the waist himself.

"Lieutenant Kozmotis Pitchiner, of the Tsar's Golden Army, currently serving on the _Sunstrider_. The pleasure is all mine."


	2. Delivery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kozmotis gets a letter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a fun thing to come up with. I based a bit of it around some personal things. More about it at the end notes o3o

“Mail call!” A commanding officer called, bringing in a bundle of letters that were soon passed around. It wasn't often that a mail courier would reach the Sunstrider when it was out on patrol, but when it did, it meant a lot to the soldiers out on patrol that they got encouraging words from loved ones back home.  
  
This time, much to Kozmotis' surprise, a letter was passed to him as well in the form of a simple white envelope with elegant, cursive writing on it.  
  
“Well now Pitchiner!” One of Koz' fellow soldiers exclaimed, “who is writing to you all the way out in the ass-end of this galaxy?”  
  
“Maybe it's a _girl!_ ” Another soldier named Wilson called, which was followed by several catcalls and wolf whistles. Kozmotis rolled his eyes, as he got up to head out of the cabin for some peace and quiet. “You're all hilarious.” He scoffed, opening the envelope and pulling out the letter as he went.  
  
It turned out however, that they had not been far off. The letter showed signs of having been a few places, such as the Golden Army Headquarters in the Lunar Capitol, before being sent off to a couple of harbors the Sunstrider had been at, before finally arriving at its destination.  
  
 _To Lieutenant Kozmotis Pitchiner,_ The letter read.  
  
 _I hope this letter finds you in good health, wherever you may be at this moment. When delivering my letter, I was informed it would be best to send it off to the local military headquarters, since they would be more aware of your current whereabouts. I decided to take their advice, since I only recalled the name of your ship, the Sunstrider, and for all I know you might have joined the crew of another ship until then._  
  
 _It may be a while before this letter arrives, but even so, I wanted to once again express my gratitude to you. Your help on that day, and followed by the pleasant afternoon we shared afterward, was possibly one of the best things that could have happened to me. Perhaps we can meet again, and if not, then hopefully correspond. I am certain you have a lot of things to do, than simply write letters to a random woman who kissed you out of nowhere, but I figured it wouldn't do any harm to at least offer it._  
  
 _Finally, I must admit I may have snooped a little. A friendly sergent at the military office allowed me look through some files to confirm you were the person I was looking for, and I couldn't help but notice that your birthday was very soon. As such, whenever you receive this letter, I wish you a happy birthday, and a safe journey wherever you may be. I hope you get a chance to celebrate it some time, and if not that you at least have a pleasant day._  
  
 _Pleasantly yours_  
  
 _Carolina Rosalinda Ebony Centaurii of House Centaurii._  
  
Kozmotis read the letter through once, then a few more times, just to be certain he was reading things correctly. After a while, he found that he simply couldn't stop smiling. It was rare for him to get letters, and it was quite unexpected for it to be from a person he had met so randomly. But at the same time, it was rather nice. And for her to also have remembered his birthday, when he had honestly quite forgotten about it himself (as there wasn't really time to celebrate such things when on duty), it was rather sweet of her to send him such wishes.   
  
He promised himself, that if nothing else, he was going to take up her offer and write back to her. And the thought of having someone to write back to, even if only to thank her for her letter, was just… nice.  
  
”What's got you grinning like that, Pitchiner?” One of the other recruits asked when he returned to their shared cabin. ”Did a _girlfriend_ write you or something, like Wilson said it was?”  
  
Kozmotis merely snorted, but still smiled as he got to his own bunk. ”Even if it was, why should I tell you lot?” He teased, before getting out a piece of paper from his own stash (a perk about having slight rank meant that you could sometimes get a share of papers, if you needed to communicate with officers on other ships), and settled down to think of what to write before lights out.  
  
”It's _totally_ a girl.” Wilson teased from his own bunk. “I'll bet you five silvers on it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story time: This chapter was inspired by real life events, so to speak. When my parents first met, my dad, who was in the Danish Navy, was stationed in Greenland at the time and had been briefly back in Denmark, where he'd been introduced to my mom, by his sister. My mom had found out around their first meeting, that it would soon be my dad's birthday. So she got his address and wrote to him to wish him a happy birthday. And this correspondance lead to them forming a relationship <3


	3. Tomorrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A day in the lives of a soldier and a nobleman's daughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This started out as just a chapter with Koz, but the bunnies demanded that Ebony was included, this this prompt list is for the two of them. Hope you guys enjoy.

**Kozmotis**

Get up soldier, you can sleep when you're dead. You have a lot of work to do today. Got to fight for your people, got to fight for the Constellations. Got to fight for every man, woman and child, every human, star, pooka and other beings in this great big universe.

Serve your people. Serve your Tsar. Serve the Constellations, before you serve yourself.

Don't argue with your peers, don't argue with your comrades. Anger and bitterness invites the Darkness in our hearts.

Get up, move out, time to capture or kill the shadows.

Don't be afraid, it only riles the shadows up more.

Swing your sword, strike them down, don't let them get too close.

No time to bleed, no time to die, you can die in your sleep when you are an old man.

Victory, by the edge of your teeth. Another bit of the shadows defeated. Another bit of the universe is safe.

Clear away the Darkness, clear away the bodies, patch up your wounds, get some food down your gullet.

Go rest now, soldier. You have earned it for protecting the Constellations and its people.

Tomorrow is another day.

Get up, put on your uniform. Today is a big day. Smile, the Tsarovich is coming.

He is coming to congratulate everyone for their hard work.

Everyone gets a smile, a handshake, a thank you. The most dedicated get a medal and a talk about promotion.

Shake the Tsarovich's hand, soldier. Don't speak unless spoken to. Smile and thank him, and be grateful that his hand feels just as rough and calloused as your own, and his eyes and smile as tired as yours.

He knows what you are going through, and that helps a little.

The Tsarovich serves his people, just like his father did before him. Just all Tsarovich's before they become Tsars.

Ceremony is over. Time for the Tsarovich to depart. Time for you to get back to work.

Time to keep the universe safe once more.

Tomorrow is another day.

* * *

 

**Ebony**

Get up my lady, the sun is shining. There is a lot to do today.

Get out of bed and get washed up, get dressed and go to breakfast. Smile and greet your parents. Kiss mother and father on the cheek before sitting down to eat.

Look at the newspaper to see if anything is going on. See how our brave troops are doing out in the vast universe, where they fight to keep us all safe.

Do not ignore the worry in your heart, even if they say it attracts the Darkness. To worry for others is just as important.

Finish your breakfast. Time to get yourself to work at the hospital. Mother nods in understanding. Father frowns in disapproval. He does not understand, because he is lucky. Father has spent all of his life fighting battles through paperwork. He has never been in the true heat of battle.

Neither have you, and you do not pretend otherwise. You just know that there is help needed, and you want to provide as much of it as you can.

You meet with your fellow volunteers. Some are your age, others are older. They are wives, widows, sisters and mothers. You all dress in the same sterile clothing, grey gowns and white aprons and a white scarf for your hair. There is little to no conversation, as everyone prepare yourselves for the days work.

You greet the women who are off the clock now, who have just been doing the night shift, before you go to start your own. You are warned that there are new patients, soldiers who have been hurt in battle. There were so many, that some are still awaiting treatment.

You get to work.

Blood and other sharp smells hit you like a slap to the face, but you have gotten used to it and shake it off. You and an older woman get to work to help a wounded soldier. He is barely your age, and he is weeping from the agony, begging for his mother as you clean his wounds and bandage them, and eventually you have him calmed down enough, that he settles down, a pain relieving potion putting him to sleep.

Onward to the next patient.

So much blood. So much pain. A few of the soldiers pass away from their wounds. Others live to see another day. You work until a matron patiently tells you to take a break. You use that break to clean up and put on a fresh apron and scarf before going back to work.

Death. Treatment bringing survival. Older patients recovering. Newer patients being taken care of.

The sun is going down now. Time to clean up one more time, my lady. Time to leave this ruthless world of the wounded and dying, and to return to the lighter world of life.

Tomorrow is another day.


	4. Caught off guard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Caught off guard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No real notes for this one? I just needed something cute with these two.

Ebony sighed quietly, as she looked watched people walking past. The weather was lovely, which did that there were a lot of people out and about at the park to see the Lunanoff Menagerie. Ebony had gone there herself, in order to perhaps sketch some of the animals for a later reference for painting… but it was hard to be in a good mood for it. She had meant to go here for ages with some of her friends, Bethany and Elizabeth, but they had canceled the meeting that very morning because some of the Golden Army ships had recently come back to port. And on two of these ships had also been Bethany’s and Elizabeth’s beaus.

Ebony didn’t really blame them for wanting to spend some time with their loved ones. Heck, those army boys deserved all the time they could have with their girls, especially since it was impossible to say when they might get shipped out again and for how long.

But it did remind Ebony on lovely days like this, of how she felt a bit lonely. The closest she had of any decent male friends would have to be Kozmotis Pitchiner… and she had not heard from him, since their last letter, which had been weeks ago.

It would be so nice to see him again, she thought as she recalled how pleasant his companionship had been after their first, and rather improvised meeting. But even if he was in port, he was probably too busy with his duties. From what she could tell in his letters, he was the kind of person who loved keeping his hands busy. Oh he didn’t mind relaxing moments, he had told her once, but not until he was certain that there wasn’t any work left to be done.

She gasped when something that felt like a pair of hands suddenly covered her eyes and she froze for a second, when a gentle and familiar voice spoke to her.

“Guess who.”

“Kozmotis?” Ebony asked in delighted surprise, and there was a slight laugh as the hands pulled away, allowing her to turn around in her seat. Kozmotis Pitchiner grinned pleasantly, and then _oofed_ when the smaller woman quickly stood up and hugged him.

“Nice to know you’re as forward as ever.” he chuckled, returning the embrace.


	5. Storytelling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Storytelling - Ebony and Koz go on a walk and enjoy each other’s company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve been in need of something cute with these two, so have yourselves another chapter, continued from the previous one <3

They talk for what feels like hours, really, about everything and nothing. They wander the city streets, side by side, and are just content with each others company, knowing some things about each other from the letters they have exchanged.

Kozmotis knows that Ebony is the only daughter of Governor Centaurii, a mild-mannered, but still powerful politician. He has also learned, that she grew up with a love of different creative hobbies, thanks to her mother who gladly encouraged such things, and to her childhood governess, who had been a wise, if stern, Pooka named Juneberry. Juneberry had been the kind of Pooka that was a teetotaler when it came to chocolate.

Ebony knew in return about Kozmotis, that he was of noble birth himself. He had lost his parents when he was young, however, and had not been able to claim his title as Lord until he had come of age. Even then, however, he had grown up with an uncle who had taught him how titles were nothing, if you didn’t know how to work for them. It had been his uncle who had inspired Kozmotis to sign up for the Golden Army Academy when he was old enough, and he had been with the army ever since. His title was ready for him, should he ever retire or even just get married.

Marriage was something neither of them had ever really thought about, which they could freely admit to one another. Kozmotis had simply been too occupied with his work as a soldier, and Ebony… well, she just didn’t _feel_ ready. Her father, however, was starting to get ideas about how a young woman like her should not be a _spinster._ So he had been sending young men her way in hopes that one of them might catch her interest.

So far, the most persistent one had been a young noble of House Taurus, one that it turned out they were both familiar with: His name was Auriga, and he was a persistent (Ebony’s words) and arrogant (Koz’ words) pain in the ass.

“Of course, everyone has a good side and I suppose one must admit that Auriga has his own.” Kozmotis said in a lofty manner, before smirking at Ebony’s puzzled expression. “After all, his persistence lead you to my company.”

Ebony bursts out laughing at that, almost having to support herself against his arm as they walk, which he doesn’t mind at all. “True, that much is very, very true!” She agrees.

Of course, not everything can be harmony. Ebony admits that Auriga went to her father and told him, how apparently she had been courting with another man without either of the other two mens knowledge. So the moment she had come home that day, her father had informed her, that she was not allowed to just make a public spectacle the way she apparently had, just because Auriga had not been to her liking. And then he had proceeded to demand information about Kozmotis, which Ebony had been unable to give him, at least at the time, since they had only gotten to know one another. And even knowing what she did through their letters, she hadn’t been able to say more. Because while the Governor is known to be mildmannered, he is also known to be very stubborn.

“All I could tell him, was that you were a lieutenant in the Golden Army,” she huffs. “And apparently, he decided to translate that to _‘vagrant unworthy of my daughter.’_ So I haven’t been able to talk any sense into him.” Kozmotis just snorted in amusement.

“It wouldn’t be the first time that someone underestimated because of my lack of what they deem a ‘proper’ rank or title.” He scoffed, “and it probably won’t be the last. But who knows? One day, one way or another, they’ll be proven wrong.”

Nothing lasts forever, unfortunately, and Kozmotis eventually walks Ebony home. It is well after dark when they get there, and they are met by Ebony’s mother by the back door, where they had otherwise gone in hope of avoiding Governor Centaurii.

Lady Centaurii however, is of a much friendlier mindset than her husband, and she smiles warmly at Kozmotis, thanking him for bringing her daughter home safely. Kozmotis bows lightly to her, and when her hand is offered, he gently takes it and brushes his lips against her knuckles, earning a surprised, but pleased look from the Lady, as he lets go of her hand.

“Nothing at all like the ‘ruffian’ your father feared you might be in company of,” she simply told her daughter with a smile. “A pleasure to meet you, lieutenant Pitchiner. I hope we will get to see more of you in the future.” With that, she simply heads back inside, leaving the two young people to their privacy.

“She likes you.” Ebony says, and finds herself smiling without really knowing why at that fact. Kozmotis returns the smile, before he repeats his earlier gesture, by gently taking Ebony’s hand and bowing to her, before lightly brushing his lips against her knuckles. The whole thing earns him a warm smile from Ebony, along with a warm, red color in her cheeks.

“I’m glad she does.” Kozmotis finally tells Ebony, “and maybe one day your father will too.”

“I hope he will.” Ebony chuckles. “Because I certainly do as well. Like you, that is.”

Kozmotis just smiles. And he keeps smiling, even after he and Ebony have said goodbye, and she has gone inside and he has gone on his way to return to the barracks before lights out.


End file.
